


In a Different Life

by jelbertie



Category: RWBY
Genre: All of the aus, Bumbleby - Freeform, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-15 19:37:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 11,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3459365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jelbertie/pseuds/jelbertie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>31 different AUs for Bumbleby</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Incredibly Long Cross Country Train Ride

**Author's Note:**

> this is part of my au a day challenge, can be found on my tumblr (ravenpuffslytherdor), and hopefully I'll be uploading a different bumbleby au every day, so i hope you enjoy!

Blake yawned as she sat down in the semi-comfortable chair that would be her new home for the next 12 hours. She knew when she’d booked the cross country train from Vale to Vacuo that it would be an excruciatingly long journey, but she had friends and business that needed to be done so really it was unavoidable.

Unless she wanted to spend months trekking across the undeveloped land that was crawling with Grimm. Yeah, this was definitely the best option. No matter what she told people about her childhood, Blake preferred the safety of the cities. After what she’d seen happen to so many villages, it was understandable as to why.

Still, 12 hours is a long time. The train hadn’t even started moving and Blake was starting to feel that dull ache she got whenever she was being unproductive. She reached into her bag to pull out her book, which should get her through about half of the trip if she was lucky, and tried to get into a position she could actually remain in for a while.

“Pulling out the book already huh?” The girl sitting across from her asked, grinning. She looked exceedingly enthusiastic and happy, which would probably steadily decline over the course of this train journey. Blake had been on enough of them to know how they worked. But didn’t the girl get the message that when on public transport you don’t talk to anyone? No eye contact, no acknowledgement of existence, no talking. That is not how solo journeys worked. The girl must be new to this.

“Yeah.” Blake nodded vaguely, she didn’t want to just completely ignore the blonde who was staring at her expectantly. That would lead to an awkward silence where Blake was bound by the rules of social interaction to respond. She had 12 hours, she couldn’t be in a state of an expectant answer for 12 hours. She could do it for 4, possibly 8, but not 12.

“Well, hope you have a few in there cause this is going to be a long ride.” The girl laughed, and Blake couldn’t stop the tiny grin from appearing on her face. Damn that laugh was contagious, and it seemed like the girl laughed with her entire body, not one cell didn’t feel that enjoyment.

“Right.”

There was a pause. Blake liked it. She opened her book to where she’d left it and started to immerse herself in these characters’ lives again. It was about a young boy living in Menagerie and it was fascinating.

“I’m Yang by the way.” Jeez, did she not get the hint that Blake didn’t want to talk? A nice laugh doesn’t mean the privilege of vocal communication, especially not on a train. “What’s your name?” Yang asked. Well, actually, it was nice to pair a name with a face. Yang. It suited her somehow.

Still, now Blake really had to decide whether or not she was going to answer this one. Telling Yang her name would mean that they would be having some form of real conversation, where information was shared and they started telling each other things. Blake really wasn’t one to get involved in those kind of discussions, she was more of a ‘business first, friends never’ kind of girl. And Yang seemed like she would get very annoying, very quickly. Who starts a conversation with someone they see on a train?

Years later, Blake never understood why she decided to go against what her mind was telling her.

“Blake.”

“Cool name.”

“Thanks.”

Yang grinned again, and settled down in her seat, staring out the window onto the platform. The train hadn’t even started moving yet. It seemed as if Yang wasn’t going to be saying much more for a while, so Blake settled back down with her book. Only another 12 hours to go.

~

“Hey look at this!” Yang said excitedly from her seat. They were an hour into the journey and she hadn’t said anything since the platform, Blake was hoping for an understanding of silence. Apparently that wasn’t going to happen. But the black-haired girl still ignored the blonde in the hope that she’d give up.

Blake Belladonna really didn’t know Yang. At all.

“Blake? Blake?” Great, now she’d have to respond.

“Yes?”

“Look!” Yang pointed excitedly out the window to the outskirts of Vale. Blake had seen it before; hell, Blake had crawled over that wall, half dead, and lived in those streets for her first year in the city, but Yang didn’t know that. From her reaction, Blake guessed that this was the first time she’d seen this edge of Vale. Surprising, it seemed like Yang would be the type to go and explore wherever she could.

“It’s pretty.”

“Pretty? It’s amazing, all those houses, different people in there living their lives, unaware of how close they are to the monsters outside the walls? I mean, I’ve seen it all up close but having a wider view just throws everything into perspective, you know? We’re all so tiny, living in our houses that look so similar to one another. And we all want something more out of life.” Yang’s eyes lit up as she spoke, the wonder in her voice encapsulating her attitude.

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“Huh?”

“People don’t always want something more out of life. People can’t usually get more out of life. All we can do is hope to make some changes in the world.” Blake stared out across at all of the houses, trying to see what Yang saw. But she couldn’t. Blake didn’t want to let her pessimism dictate her view, but she wondered how many of those people had voted in favour of the latest anti-faunus bill.

“Woah this is getting deep.”

“You brought up our size in the universe, what did you expect?”

“For you to share in my wonder of the world?”

“You don’t know me very well.”

Blake didn’t let herself regret the harshness of her words. This girl needed to learn that you can’t just strike up conversations with people you’ve never met before. That’s not how society worked. Okay, sure, she seemed absolutely fascinating and had a beautiful outlook on the world and a smile that seemed to shine so brightly that Blake had difficulty looking at it, but she needed to learn boundaries. This was the right thing to do.

This book was really interesting and now certainly taking up all of Blake’s interest which was why she was staring at it so intently.

Suddenly a presence made itself known in the chair next to Blake. Daring to look over the top of her book, she saw Yang smiling widely at her.

“Let’s change that, shall we?”

~

Hour 4 into the train ride and Blake was participating in one of the most enjoyable discussions she had had in a very long time. Sure, she was passionate about her fight for faunus rights and yes, of course, she was happy to educate people so they could dig themselves out of ignorance, but she hadn’t really taken part in a conversation with a human which didn’t leave her worrying for the future of her people in what must have been a few years.

Talking with Yang was different.

Yang liked adventure, Yang told stories, Yang shared jokes that didn’t end with forced laughter. She understood Blake’s quiet nature and compensated for that within the conversation without taking over. They never talked about faunus rights directly, it isn’t usually something that people bring up in a casual, get-to-know-someone chat, but some throwaway comments immediately told Blake that Yang had a viewpoint very similar to her own.

And the stories that girl could tell? Blake thought she was good at first impressions, but she was definitely wrong here. The blonde had been all over Vale, and even taken a couple of exploratory trips out to Atlas and Mistral as well. She had fought Grimm whilst hiking outside the walls, who went hiking outside the walls, and had completely destroyed a nightclub on the shady side of Vale.

The stories seemed to be wild, and unbelievable and yet Blake ate them up and let herself get lost in the tales. She could imagine a younger version of the girl sitting beside her going out with her friends and chasing a mugger across town in order to subdue him. She could see the tiny blonde with her even smaller sister running around the Vytal festival playing all of the games that they could find. For Yang, it didn’t seem like much of a stretch.

“This is my first time going to Vacuo though, I’ve always wanted to see it.” That was another thing, she was always sincere, there was nothing about Yang that felt secret or hidden. Everything about her was out in the open, easy to see.

“It’s really laid back there, not much to look at with the architecture but the people are certainly interesting.”

“How many times have you been?”

“A fair few.”

“Nice, how come? Why do you go…vac there?” Blake let out an exasperated sigh.

“That was awful.”

“That was brilliant. Now come on, answer the question.” Damn girl looked so proud of herself.

“There’s a group of people there that I work with on a regular basis, we don’t have a constant CCT connection so normally we have to talk in person. It’s just work.” Blake tried not to make it sound suspicious. Considering how she’d managed to keep up a certain air of mystery, she figured that she’d succeeded. Didn’t hurt to be cautious though.

“Oh, cool. Must be nice to get a change of scenery.”

“Sounds like you know that very well.”

Yang let out a deep breath and relaxed in her chair.

“Yeah I do.” She murmured, actually looking rather sombre. “I wonder when it’ll be enough.” She had said it so quietly that Blake almost didn’t catch it. She decided not to question it further, Yang had respected her boundaries and she was going to return the favour. But this girl obviously had something on her mind, and Blake couldn’t help but be curious. Letting it rest was more difficult than she thought it would be, for some reason Blake wanted to learn everything she could about this girl.

Neither of them said anything for few minutes, indicating that the conversation was over. That was fine; it had been nice whilst it had lasted. 

Wait, was she falling asleep?

~

Yang had been asleep for a few hours now and Blake didn’t know how much longer she could cope. To begin with, it had been okay, she’d just been dozing calmly in the seat looking far too adorable to be fair, but also easy enough to ignore and so Blake went back to her book. Then the dreams started, they didn’t appear to be nightmares per se, but Yang was reacting rather animatedly to them. She was kicking the chair in front of her, her eyes were twitching a lot and Blake swore she could hear Yang say “Ruby.”

But again, this was manageable, it stopped almost as suddenly as it had begun and Yang was back to her peaceful slumber that looked too tranquil for Blake to interrupt for anything.

After that was when Blake started to panic a little bit. Apparently, Yang’s neck was tired of supporting Yang’s head and thus, independently of its owner’s conscious decision, decided that Blake’s shoulder was going to take on that role. The blonde was leaning on Blake’s shoulder, very content, and sleeping. There wasn’t an arm rest separating them, and Yang was starting to get a little…clingy…

Blake didn’t mind the sleeping girl wrapping her arm around Blake’s waist, it actually felt rather nice, but she couldn’t help but wonder what Yang’s reaction would be when she woke up. Therefore, Blake tried to disentangle herself from the arm that was holding her close to a practical stranger’s body. Tried being the key word here.

This girl was strong, unbelievably strong, and her grip was like a vice; only getting tighter the more Blake tried to free herself from it.

Eventually, the black haired girl gave up, and accepted that she was now Yang’s equivalent of a teddy bear. Come to think of it, this was rather comfortable, the blonde seemed to be emitting some form of heat that made Blake feel like she was under a duvet and she had been awake for a really long amount of time.

Closing her eyes for a minute wouldn’t hurt. There was still 5 hours left to go on this train, it would be in Blake’s best interest to get some shuteye.

~

“Blake? Hey Blake.” The faunus tried to fight the force that was attempting to awaken her. She was so tired, and comfortable, and really did not feel like moving. In fact, snuggling closer to the warm presence was what she wanted, not turning away from it. The warm presence laughed, it felt amazing to be so close to that laugh. “Come on, wake up. We’re in Vacuo.”

Blake was awake. It took her a couple moments to remember her situation. Train. Vacuo. Business. Yang.

Oh god Yang. Blake had almost started purring just from being close to that girl, that would have been embarrassing. This was embarrassing, they’d only known each other for twelve hours.

“Sorry I…”

“Don’t apologize.” Yang smiled, starting to get out of her seat. Giving herself a few more moments to collect herself, Blake had to be in prime condition to meet with her friends here, the black haired girl stretched and let her muscles ready themselves for movement. “Here you go.”

Yang handed her her bag with another grin, and then headed towards the exit.

“I gotta dash, lots to see here. But hey, I’ll see you around, Blake Belladonna.” And then she was gone. This fascinating girl who, despite what she said, Blake would probably never see again in her life. She couldn’t let herself feel disappointment.

Wait, when did Blake tell Yang her last name?

It was a long shot, but searching quickly through her bag Blake found her scroll and checked her contacts, and there, practically glowing amongst all of the names of Blake’s acquaintances, was one that wasn’t just scroll details, but an unwritten promise.

“I’ll see you again Yang Xiao Long. Definitely.”


	2. Bookstore AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 of AU a Day, with today's prompt being Bookstore AU. I don't think any of the others are going to be as long as the first one, but I hope you enjoy!

This was the most annoying thing Yang had ever had to deal with. Not her friends being assholes, not her dad forgetting that his daughters weren’t five anymore, THIS. The lack of knowledge about various types of Grimm which was stopping her from being able to help her sister with her homework. Okay, yes, Ruby was one of the smartest people Yang knew and so she wasn’t usually that bothered about admitting that maybe her younger sister knew more than she did, but this was meant to be Yang’s area of expertise.

And she didn’t know this.

Which meant she had to go to the bookstore. Yang didn’t really have a good history with bookstores. One time she got into an argument with a friend in one, and she got pushed, and then her semblance activated and…

Well, let’s just say it didn’t end well.

The little bell that signified Yang’s arrival should not be a daunting sound, but she still felt like it was judging her. Like it knew what she was capable of doing and so was ordering her out. However, it was just a bell and so the only thing it could do was give out a bad feeling. Yang glared at the silver instrument as she entered the shop.

“Welcome to Tukson’s book trade, home to every book under the sun.”

“Hey, I’m here for an encyclopaedia on Grimm.” Straight to the point, Yang didn’t want to spend any more time in here than was necessary. This Tukson appeared to be a good guy; he didn’t deserve to have Yang ruin his shop.

“Over on the left.” He pointed out a shelf which would hold the saviour of Yang’s dignity.

“Thank you.” She grinned at him as she turned around, and walked confidently towards the shelf. Now she just had to grab the book, pay and make it home. She could do this. She could…

Who was that? A girl wearing a bow had just stopped in front of the shelf Yang was headed towards and was browsing through the different books. She was absolutely beautiful, and Yang had to try to stop herself from staring. She failed miserably.

‘No Yang, focus, ‘ she reprimanded herself, ‘Don’t get distracted in a bookstore.’

However this was easier said than done, this girl was breathtaking. Still, Yang had never been one to admire from the sidelines, so she continued her short journey to the bookshelf, ready to make an introduction.

“Hey there I…need that book.” Damn, there went the suave, sophisticated entrance that would blow anyone away. This girl was holding the book that was the object of Yang’s search, and as much as she would absolutely love to flirt with and get to know this girl, her weekend bonding time with her sister was way more important.

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, but I need that book.”

“This is a bookstore, there’s another one…” Both girls turned back to the shelf where the encyclopaedia had been, and saw that it was the final copy. “Oh.”

“That’s going to be an issue.”

There was a pause. This situation could go in several directions, the majority of which ending in an argument Yang really was not in the mood for having. Usually, she’d be game, but with this girl? In this situation? No chance.

“What do you need it for?” The girl asked, her yellow eyes obviously dissecting the circumstance as well. Yang could see the wheels turning in her mind, if she was thinking this much about it they could easily come to a diplomatic decision.

“I’m helping my little sister with her homework.”

“That’s…noble of you…”

“Not really, I’ve got my Beacon exam in a couple weeks, so this stuff is like second nature to me.” The girl raised an eyebrow, and Yang remembered why she was there. “But I kind of forgot some really obvious details and I need that book not only for her homework but also to brush up on my knowledge. Being a huntress means the world to me.”

Blake smiled knowingly. It was small, but the shift in her features was mesmerizing.

“I know the feeling. I need this for Beacon exams too.” Oh. Interesting. Yang could work with this. “I haven’t been to a training school though, so I really need the extra support.” Yang could really work with this.

“Hey, tell you what. You let me buy the book and you can come over and study with me. I’ll let you use my textbooks, notes, and we could even spar together…if you’d like…?” Please say yes, please say yes.

The girl let out a long sigh. Oh no, she was going to say no.

“Sure.” Yes! It was all Yang could do to stop herself cheering. This had turned out to be the best day ever! Suddenly, bookstores really didn’t seem all that bad.


	3. Platonic Living Together AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3, today's prompt is 'Platonic Living Together' AU

Sitting back on the living room couch with a book in one hand and a mug of piping hot coffee in the other was the perfect recipe for heaven. It was literally Blake’s ideal situation. The silence in the room was so soothing, the heat from the cup radiating at just the right intensity. Nothing could ruin this rare moment of tranquillity.

BANG!

The noise from the behind the door came out of nowhere. Luckily, Blake’s reflexes were quick and her grip was steady, otherwise she’d have ruined her book. She calmly placed the mug on the coffee table, and stood up slowly from her position on the couch. Someone, and she had a perfect guess as to who, had spoiled Blake’s afternoon of peace. Someone was going to pay.

Before she had even made it to the door, it flung open and Blake was surprised that it didn’t fly off the hinges. Or she would be surprised, if her idiot roommate didn’t have a habit of doing this once every few days. Blake just folded her arms, calm as could be, and glared at said roommate, who was rubbing the back of her neck and grinning like she knew what she had done.

Neither of them said anything. They didn’t have to. They’d had this conversation so many times now, Blake had actually lost count, and yet nothing about their situation had changed. Blake would still settle down every now and again in the hope for some peace and quiet. Yang still went out all the time on crazy adventures, only to come storming into the apartment like the world needed to pay attention to her.

Okay, so Blake paid very close attention to her, but that was not the point.

“Okay…so…”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Yang looked concerned at Blake’s tone of voice. Which was good, she needed to understand that this was not how living together worked. Yang needed to respect what Blake wanted out of this arrangement.

“But…”

“No.” Stay firm, Blake. The blonde was at a loss for words, unable to fix this one like she had before.

“You were in the perfect relaxation state weren’t you?” Blake didn’t dignify that with a response. “I’m so sorry, Nora was testing out…” Blake glared. “Right sorry. I was an idiot. I shouldn’t have done it.”

“I never said that.” Yang looked up in surprise at the response.

“But…”

“You can go on your crazy adventures, but when I’m not invited, you don’t burst in out of nowhere. At least send a scroll message ahead so I can prepare myself.” And that was that. Blake had made her point, now she had to passive aggressively ignore Yang for a couple days in the hope that it would sink in, and then fail because Yang was so damn charming.

“You know, that sounds a lot like what couples do.” She could hear the grin in Yang’s voice, and Blake sighed. No response though, she had to remain strong. “Well, people were always bad at defining us.” That was true. Hell, Blake was bad at defining the relationship that they had, all she knew was that she liked it.

Blake collapsed back onto their couch, ready to try and go back to a peaceful state, but knowing that it wasn’t possible now that her adventurous roommate was home. She was pleasantly surprised, however, when Yang settled down next to her and tentatively rested her head on Blake’s lap.

“I’m sorry.” Yang whispered, and Blake smiled down at her. She shook her head slightly, to show that her initial anger had died down and that what had happened was really nothing that Blake didn’t expect when they had bought the apartment together. "It's good to be home." The blonde closed her eyes, looking content with Blake’s response, and she fell asleep whilst Blake ran her fingers through her roommate’s hair.

Living with Yang Xiao Long certainly did lead to some weird situations, and seeing the blonde in various strange states of aftermath, but it was wonderful to know that the place that they had created together was worthy to be called ‘home.’


	4. Stuck in an airport at 2AM AU

There was only so much you could do in an airport, especially on a limited budget. Yang had already climbed across the seating, played all of the demo games she could find and read a whole book from the book shop without even buying it. After each time-consuming activity, she checked on the status of her flight.

“It’s still delayed, ma’am, I’m sorry.” The woman made an apologetic face, even though she was the unlucky person who got the shift at 2 AM, she spared some empathy for Yang, who assured the lady, again, that it was fine. This was the second member of staff that Yang had seen on duty here, and she was sure she’d get through more. “We can book you in for a different flight?”

“When?”

“Next week.”

“Won’t do, sorry but…”

“Your sister’s birthday is in two days. I know.” She offered Yang a sympathetic smile, who returned it happily. She couldn’t get mad at the woman; she was just doing her job. “I’ll call for you when there’s news.”

“Thank you.” And then Yang returned to the airport. Back to waiting with nothing to do. At that moment, she spotted a girl leaving a similar desk nearby. This girl had been checking about flights almost as periodically as Yang. Maybe she’d appreciate some company, she must be bored too. Yang remembered seeing her as she’d entered the airport, and so the two had been there for approximately the same amount of time.

“Hellooooo!” Yang called as she approached the stranger, waved animatedly. She was met with an eye roll as the girl turned to face her. “Hey, I’m Yang and I believe that we’re in a very similar situation.”

“It appears so.” The girl stated. She didn’t seem to be interested in starting a conversation, and to be fair Yang couldn't blame her, she must have been exhausted. They'd both been in the airport for about 16 hours now. Usually Yang would be happy to give up this kind of social encounter as a lost cause, but today Yang thought she'd put in a little more effort. It must have been the boredom of waiting for the flight.

“Where you headed?”

“Mystral.”

“Oh. Cool.” The girl sat down and began searching through her bag, and Yang responded by sitting opposite her. “Mystral’s real lovely at this time of year.”

“Yeah.”

“You from there?” The girl sighed. “Sorry, just curious. I can back off if you'd like...?”

The stranger sitting across from her looked up suddenly, like she’d been surprised. Was it something Yang had said? Possibly, sometimes people found her a little overbearing, which was their loss but still. She tilted her head to the side slightly and Yang became hyper aware of just how long she’d been in this airport, of how much of a mess her appearance must have been.

“I’m from Vale, actually.” She hesitated before continuing. “Where are you headed?”

“Patch. It’s my sister’s birthday in a few days. She’ll kill me if I don’t make it there in time.” The girl smiled. This was a wonderful way of passing the time in this godforsaken airport. “What was your name again?”

“Blake.” Her eyes met Yang’s. “What’s your sister like?”

Neither of them checked on their flight with the front desk again until their names were called out over the PA system and they were forced to part ways. Yang would see Blake again though, they had arranged for a coffee the week they both returned to Vale.


	5. Trapped in a bank during a robbery AU

The bank is usually a very peaceful place. Sure, it induces a lot of stress in what it does, but the building itself was so calm and relaxing. Blake was probably thinking this because she didn’t have any business here today, she was just waiting whilst Yang took care of some ‘boring money stuff.’ Not wanting to intrude or overstep any boundaries, Blake decided to wait in the lobby-like area in one of the comfy chairs that children sat in whilst they waited for their parents.

Of course, today had to be the day that bank was not a peaceful place.

It was all so sudden, Blake almost didn’t see it happen. She wasn’t really paying attention to the main area of the bank, but when the group who had just pulled out guns turned to her she was forced to evaluate her situation. Alongside the other patrons here, she was being used as a hostage in a bank robbery. She could make a break for it, with her Beacon Training she was confident that she could get out, but Blake definitely couldn’t save all of the innocent people in the bank on her own.

Besides, she didn’t want to leave without Yang, who wouldn’t leave anyway. She would…

Wait…

Why hadn’t there been an ‘all guns blazing’ attack from the blonde member of Blake’s team. Yang Xiao Long wasn’t exactly the type to play hostage, especially not for more than a few minutes. Where was she? Was she okay?

‘Don’t be silly, Blake, of course she’s okay.’ Blake had to call to mind all of the dangerous situations that she had seen Yang survive. It was a rather alarmingly long list, and Blake had only known her for about a year. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from worrying.

A tiny child next to Blake started crying, his mum was on the other side of the building. Blake shuffled over to him, comforting him, she understood fearing for someone you cared about far too well. Besides, she was in a very similar situation herself. Where the hell was Yang?

Blake shifted her position so that she would be ready to defend herself or anyone around her at a moment’s notice, careful to try and keep her back hidden from the group trying to steal as much lien from this place as possible. They were idiotic enough not to check their hostages, obviously amateurs, and so Blake was going to try and utilise that, when she had the chance. If only she knew where Yang was.

Of course, after a few minutes, Blake could stop asking herself that question. Her partner crashed through the window to Blake’s left, kicking one of the robbers in the head. She caught Blake’s eye, who nodded and gestured to those around her to get behind the chairs that they had previously been sitting in. Before anyone could do anything to stop them, Yang unleashed her anger. Crashing through the window had obviously done some damage, which was, of course, the blonde’s intention.

The fact that she was fighting everyone who had caused so much distress at full force whilst simultaneously restraining herself enough to not kill them was highly impressive. Blake was ready to fight by Yang’s side, but she really didn’t need to. Yang was perfectly capable of handling this on her own, and Blake was happy to sit back on this one. At one point, one of the guys tried to run out with a small bag of lien, but Blake quickly subdued him.

After calling the police in to arrest the robbers, Yang turned to Blake.

“That was an exciting way to start a date.”

“I’ll say. Although can we go and do something a little more normal now, I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“How does getting some tuna and coffee sound?” Yang grinned at Blake, who kissed her girlfriend happily.

“Perfect.”

Okay, so maybe not everyone stopped a robbery when they left school, but for Blake and Yang, they just accepted it into their everyday schedule. No point in letting a small hiccup disrupt what could be a fantastic day.


	6. Vet Clinic AU

Zwei had been feeling off for a couple hours; Ruby had been trying to look after him as best as she could but finally she had to accept that a visit to the vet was inevitable. She couldn’t bear to see her little pup in so much distress, even if she didn’t quite have the money for a vet trip yet. It would work out. Somehow.

Entering the little clinic was so nerve-wracking that Ruby could barely stand it. Of course, the best thing to do would be to find out what was wrong with Zwei, but then that would mean that there was an actual threat. Not a brief illness that could be recovered from easily. The young girl didn’t know what she would do if she lost her new best friend.

The waiting area was so calm, no rowdy animals in here today, although there was a little kitten sleeping in a cat basket who was absolutely adorable. After what felt like an eternity, “Zwei” was called in to see the vet.

The vet herself seemed nice enough, she didn’t say much, just curt instructions that Ruby was happy to obey in this situation. She was arranging something on her desk, with her back facing the dog and his owner, and once she was done and she turned around, Zwei started yapping.

The little corgi had never been one to bark, he was pretty relaxed in most situation, even taking a liking to being transported around in Ruby’s backpack, and so his immediate vocal response to the vet’s face was a surprise to everyone in the room.

“Zwei! Calm down please, it’s just the vet.” Ruby tried to calm him down, but he ignored her. Weird. 

“If he’s not going to behave, then…” And the vet was silenced by another yap. It wasn’t even an aggressive yap, it just seemed to be a mixture between nerves and fear. Surely this vet must deal with this all the time. Why did she seem to be so wary? Her job was to deal with animals.

All of a sudden, the tiny dog ran towards the vet and started jumping up to greet her. He did this to a lot of strangers, and it was actions such as these that reassured Ruby that even though he was ill, he was still himself. This seemed to have the opposite effect on the vet. She had gone wide eyed, her face showing hints of being scared which was probably rare for someone who usually remained stoic, and Ruby could swear she saw the bow the vet was wearing twitch. She ran out of the room, muttering something about ‘this is why I prefer cats.’

Zwei looked at Ruby inquisitively, who just shook her head.

“Not today buddy.”

And then he threw up on the floor.

Ruby found some cleaning supplies, told her dog to stay out of the way as she very quickly cleaned everything up and then she pulled out her scroll and called the one person who stood a chance at fixing this situation.

“Yang? Yang?”

“Yeah huh, right here little sister.” Ruby’s older sister replied almost immediately. “What’s up?”

“It’s a long story, but Zwei’s ill, I’m at the vet and the vet kind of freaked out when he greeted her and then he threw up on the floor and now I think we’re going to get kicked out and…”

There was a bang from outside the door, and the sound of another dog barking.

“Oh my god, help me!”

“Woah. Easy there, I’m on my way.” And the call was cut off with the sound of the road. Wait had Yang been driving?

Ruby shook her head and didn’t worry about it. Yang always managed to get herself out of trouble, and then get Ruby out of it too. This was going to be okay. The young girl said so to her little dog as she stroked him behind his ear waiting for the vet to return.

“Hellooooo!” Ruby could hear her sister calling to everyone in the waiting room just outside the door. Wow, that was quick. Then again, this was Yang, of course it was quick. “I’m here with Zwei, sorry I’m late.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t…” That was the vet. She sounded a lot calmer than she had been before.

“Can’t what?”

“I look after cats, it’s what I do here. The guy who treats dogs isn’t in, and I thought I could take over, but…”

“You haven’t dealt with dogs before?” Yang’s tone was a little disbelieving, and Ruby was inclined to agree with her sister. What was she doing her if she could only treat cats.

“I have. A long time ago.”

There was a pause, Ruby looked down at Zwei who wasn’t all that bothered by the situation.

“Look, Miss…?”

“Belladonna.”

“Miss Belladonna, I’ll go in with you, make sure my dog remains calm so that you can do what you’ve got to do. Don’t worry about it, I can keep him under control. Just please help him.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because I just came here from Junior’s.”

“You…what?”

“Yeah, so I know how to deal with ‘dangerous dogs.’” There was a laugh from the vet, and Ruby could only imagine what Yang was doing out in the waiting room. She could always get those kind of reactions out of people, no matter what. It was brilliant.

Actually, it seemed to be exactly what the vet needed.

The two walked back into the room together and Zwei perked up at the sight of Yang.

“Hey there Zwei! Now, I need you to calm down for a while, okay? Think you can do that? Good boy” Even though it was the vet who was the only one qualified to care for him, both Yang and Miss Belladonna were examining the dog, working together like they had been for years. Every so often, Zwei would move in a way that made the vet anxious, but Yang always managed to calm her down. Finally, the vet looked up at Ruby.

“Did you feed him chocolate?” Ruby was met with two inquisitive looks.

“What? No! Who would leave out their box of chocolates that they were totally saving for later and then have them eaten by their dog?” The vet raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t me.”

The eye roll from the vet was so dramatic that Ruby was sure it was deserving of an award, and it was followed by a hearty chuckle from Yang. 

It didn’t take long once they’d figured out what was wrong with Zwei. Leaving the vet after he had been treated, the two girls were told that they should keep an eye on him for 4-6 hours. As they were saying their goodbyes, Ruby was shocked that her sister didn’t take the opportunity that was staring her in the face. She’d done it enough times on her little sister’s behalf, which was why Ruby decided to return the favour.

“Hey, um, Miss Vet lady.”

“It’s Blake.”

“Right, Blake?” The vet smiled, silently inviting Ruby to continue. “Would you mind coming over to check on him when you’re done with work?”

“Ruby!” Yang tried to reprimand, but Blake smiled at the two.

“I would love to, but I don’t know where you live.” The vet seemed to be asking, but Ruby didn’t share. She’d done her bit, and Yang was much better than her at picking up social cues anyway.

“I can put it on your scroll if you’d like?” See.

It didn’t take long to exchange the information. Soon enough, Yang and Ruby were walking back home with Zwei in tow, happy to see him healthy again.

“Yang?”

“Yes Ruby?”

“I’m not going to be at home tonight, I have…other plans.” Ruby grinned up at her sister, who grinned right back.

“I can’t believe you.”

“You’re welcome.” Ruby practically sang; it was hard to believe that a mislaid box of chocolates and a sick dog could lead to something that would, ultimately, make her sister as happy as she deserved to be.

But that was going to take a couple years, Yang had only met Blake a few hours previously after all.


	7. Pretending to be BFFs to prevent creep from hitting on someone AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is so short guys, my brain does not want me to write today

This wasn’t the first time Yang had done something like this. Actually, it was pretty sad how often Yang felt the need to do something similar to what she was about to do. Honestly, she wished she didn’t have to, but unfortunately there was still so many disgusting people in the world.

“Hey, there you are!” Yang threw her arm around the girl’s shoulders, turning her away from the creepy guy who was way too close. Then Yang murmured quietly in the girl’s ear, “Is he giving you a problem?”

“I can look after myself.”

“Yeah, but I like dragging scum through the dirt.”

“Oh.” The girl made a face that very clearly said ‘fair enough.’ “But don’t worry, you don’t have to look after me. I’ve got this.”

Yang grinned down at her, and then turned back to the bar to grab a drink. This was going to be an interesting conversation to overhear. The girl faced the creep again, and Yang was patiently waiting for some entertainment. It was nice to know this girl didn’t need her, but she was still there to provide assistance if things got a little rocky.

“So, after this how about we…” The creep didn’t even get to finish his sentence, Yang heard the telltale sound of a punch in the face and then the painful cry of a broken man. It was music to her ears.

That was when she was tapped on the shoulder. Yang turned to find her new favourite person smiling up at her.

“Thanks for offering to help.”

“No problem, looks like you were right though. You can look after yourself.” The gleeful look in Yang’s eye must have been brighter than the sun.

“Want to go get a drink or something? Away from here?”

“I would love to.”


	8. CIA AU

This was getting out of control, and yet Blake still couldn’t let anyone in on that little secret. If she let it slip to any member of the White Fang that she was feeding information about them to the CIA then she would be dead, for sure. But still, she could see it in their eyes, she could read it in their small gestures. They knew. Or, at least, they suspected, and it was only a matter of time before Blake was dead in a ditch just outside the walls of Vale.

“How’s the new mission treating you?” Adam asked her, seemingly casual. However Adam, much like Blake herself, was very good at remaining calm. She couldn’t use his manner as a gage of how much he knew.

“Alright, as far as managing various levels of explosives go.” Keeping her face neutral, Blake continued polishing gambol shroud. She mustn’t let him know.

Luckily, Blake wasn’t left worrying for too long, as they were approached by some worried new recruits who were panicking about…something…

“Surprise search, hide anything you can.” One managed to get out before leaning against the wall for support. The other one proved much more capable of handling pressure since they started helping Blake and Adam pack away the various illegal goods that were in their immediate vicinity. It didn’t take them too long, Blake had done this so many times now that it was practically second nature.

“Why hello there everyone.” And there came the agent, grinning at them all like she thought that they were just some young delinquents who weren’t going to cause much harm. Before, Blake would have called her an idiot. Now she called her a genius. “I’m just gonna have a quick poke through your things.”

The search began, every member of the White Fang in the room trying not to look guilty. Most were succeeding, but Blake could see the failures in the corner who were destined for a warning from Adam when this was all over. She felt so sorry for them.

The agent turned to Blake and Adam, asking for personal searches. Of course, they both obliged. Adam was first, and nothing illegal was discovered on his person, since he kept everything he could be found guilty for under the floorboard he was standing on. After him was Blake, who remained just as calm as her old mentor. There was nothing that they would…

“And what’s this?” The agent said, an annoying tone of victory in her voice.

“I don’t know.” Blake replied, trying to keep her voice and pulse level. Technically there was no need, but she needed to keep as many people in the dark as possible.

“Ah, well to me it seems like a stash of dust hidden on your person.” The agent walked around Blake until they were face to face. “Do you have a license to be carrying dust?”

Blake remained silent. She actually did have the license, but moving towards her bag would only worsen the situation. The agent took this as meaning the opposite, and dragged Blake away. No one called after her, no one made a move to say that this was the wrong thing to do. ‘Thanks guys,’ Blake thought to the members of the White Fang, they spoke so much of unity and family. Look at them now.

When the two were outside, far enough away to not be seen or heard by anyone, the agent quickly removed Blake’s handcuffs and pinned her against the nearest surface that resembled a wall. The kiss was desperate, full of fear and relief and it couldn’t have come a moment sooner.

“Yang,” Blake managed to say in between kisses. “Thank you.”

“As soon as I heard you’d been compromised I…I…” Blake silenced the thought with another kiss. She was out. She was safe. And now she could take what she had learned back and help take down the White Fang alongside those she cared about. 

Honestly, Blake was more excited to go back home with Yang once she had been debriefed.


	9. Zombie AU

Punching one of the undead in the face and feeling their skull crack under your fist should not feel this satisfying, but when the whole world had been overrun by zombified versions of its previous inhabitants, any joy found was positive. The joy that people managed to find was what kept them going.

“Yang, I think he’s dead.” Blake commented, looking rather amused. She was standing safely on the sidelines, observing the fight, a plethora of zombies dead at her feet. The look on her face almost reminded Yang of the good old days at Beacon before this whole mess had started.

“Well…”

“Again.” She corrected herself, shaking her head in frustration at Yang’s joke. To be fair, it had been made far too many times. “Let’s head back.”

“Yeah. Guess you could say that that guy was dying to meet me.” Blake raised an eyebrow. “Eh?” It was nice to hear her laugh. The sound brightened the atmosphere. Blake brightened the atmosphere. It was just a fact of her existence that didn’t quite match with the colour for which she was named. It was partially why Yang was relying on her so much.

The two made their way back to their makeshift camp where Ruby and Weiss were waiting. Every so often, one of them would deal with an aggressive attack from a zombie, these days it was inevitable that you’d cross at least one every few hours. At least the two scouts had managed to gather some food.

Turning around the corner of the street towards the abandoned building, Yang felt a sinking feeling in her gut. Her body seemed to know what had happened before her eyes had a chance to witness it. There were zombies everywhere, Yang couldn’t see a clear path to where her tiny friend and baby sister were supposed to be staying. Where they were supposed to be safe.

Yang let her instincts take over, ploughing through the undead like they were ants. She didn’t let herself indulge in satisfaction, not anymore. Not when…

“Ruby…” And there she was. Yang’s baby sister. The older girl could recognise that hood anywhere, could recognise those boots anywhere. 

Except she didn’t have her scythe in hand. She didn’t have her partner by her side. She didn’t have that childlike glint in her silver eyes. Ruby was staring at Yang as though she didn’t even recognise her, and her lack of an arm didn’t appear to even divert her attention. Yang couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Nothing made sense. Not Ruby. Anyone but Ruby.

“Yang.” She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Blake, her mind was telling her, it’s okay. Except it wasn’t, how could it be? Ruby had been bitten and turned whilst she was off doing some meaningless task when Yang should have been here. Her baby sister had needed her, and Yang hadn’t been here. And now…

“Ruby!” It was desperate, but maybe she’d respond.

“Yang, that’s not her.” If she had the capability of constructing a coherent thought, Yang would have recognised the quiver in Blake’s voice, but she wasn’t. So she didn’t.

“No…”

“That’s not R…”

“SHUT UP!” Yang was crying now, something she hadn’t done in a long time. How could she not deal with this? She could deal with anything. That’s what Ruby had always said, that Yang could do anything. So why couldn’t Yang save the person who meant the most to her.

“I’m so sorry Yang.” Blake was sincere. There was no point getting mad at Blake when she meant well, and so Yang tried to keep her anger at bay. But she could still feel the tears running down her face.

Ruby was making her way towards the pair. Shuffling slowly, but approaching nonetheless.

“You know what she wanted.” Blake said, trying to keep her voice level. She failed, but Yang didn’t notice. How could she?

“I can’t.”

Blake moved to position herself between the two sisters, her back to Yang.

“Do you want me to…”

“No!”

“We can’t leave her here.”

“I know!”

“Then…”

Yang gripped the back of Blake’s shirt tightly, sobbing into the material. She tried to tell herself to get it together, but like everything else, she failed. “Please Blake, let me.”

“As you wish.” And Blake stepped aside. Yang took a breath, stood up tall and closed the gap between her and her sister. She used one hand to keep Ruby’s front half away from her, and the other to grab Crescent Rose from its usual home.

“When this is over,” Yang met her sister’s eyes, those eyes which held no comprehension of what she was saying, “I’m going to build you a beacon. Something small, something like Summer has. Crescent Rose will be there to keep you company, and I’ll visit all the time. I promise. If I don’t you officially have permission to haunt me. Actually, haunt me anyway. Cause I love you, little sister.” Yang placed the blade of Crescent Rose against its master’s neck. “I love you.” 

And then Ruby’s head was no longer attached to her body. As she fell, Yang followed, collapsing onto her knees, clutching the red scythe so tight she was scared that she’d break it. After a couple moments, Blake knelt down next to her.

“Goodbye Ruby.” Then she detached the red hood from the corpse in front of them, and pulled Yang to her feet. “We need to keep moving.” Yang nodded. One foot in front of the other.

When the two were far enough away from the city to set up for the night, Blake turned to Yang. She took the red hood from her backpack and started folding it very specifically. Then Blake removed the purple piece of material hanging from Yang’s shorts and replaced it with the hood.

“She’ll remain alive in our memories.” Blake kissed Yang’s hand. “She’ll remain alive in our hearts.” Blake kissed Yang’s cheek. “She would have been proud of you.” Blake kissed Yang’s forehead.

Yang leaned into Blake’s touch, drawing a sliver of comfort from it and the words she was saying. She was right, naturally since this was Blake, and with the death of Ruby and the pair’s failure in trying to find Weiss, Blake was now all Yang had left in this godforsaken world. Together they could make it through.

They had to.

For Ruby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not mean for this to as angsty as it was. Sorry.


	10. Bodyguard AU

Paperwork was not Blake’s forte. Anything relating to admin was not Blake’s forte, but when you were the leader of a civil rights group who had to manage the membership and actions of everyone you were responsible for, paperwork became a necessity. Seriously, all she had wanted was a faunus rights movement that could peacefully protest for equal rights whilst simultaneously disassociating themselves from the White Fang. Now she was stuck with this.

Finally, the last document had been signed and Velvet Scarlatina was assigned to the march on the border control agency in Menagerie. Honestly, you can’t just lock everyone on a country, make it almost impossible to leave and then say you gave the faunus a ‘gift.’ It doesn’t work like that.

Blake sighed.

It does work like that. But that’s why she was here. That’s why she fought.

“Miss Belladonna, if you want to make your meeting with Mr Schnee and Mr Ironwood then you’re going to have to leave now.” That was the head of her security detail. Blake couldn’t believe that Yang had followed her after Beacon, she thought that her partner would have ran off outside the kingdoms the moment she graduated, but for some reason she remained by Blake’s side.

“Can’t it wait?”

“If it could, I wouldn’t be ushering you out of the door.” Yang held the offending object open, waiting patiently for Blake to pass through. “Weiss is meeting us on the other side, don’t worry, she promised that she’d steer the meeting in your direction.”

“I know.” Blake smiled, the transformation Weiss had undertaken at Beacon had been beautiful, and now actual results were coming from it. She was more innovative than she gave herself credit for, although from what Blake had seen of the Schnee family, Weiss’s lack of self esteem was hardly a surprise. “Who are you sending with me?”

“I’ll be by your side, as always.” Yes, as always. Yang hardly ever left, and if she did it was because Blake told her too. That woman was relentless in her protection. “And we have…”

“Actually,” Blake stood up and started walking towards the jet that she’d be taking to Atlas. Yang immediately matched her step, keeping a few centimetres back. An appropriate distance. “Tell me on the way there.”

The jet was actually rather luxurious, not particularly in Blake’s taste but who was she to deny a gift to the cause? Still, whenever it was in use always meant that something important or dangerous or both was on the horizon and so the comfort it provided physically was not matched in a mental capacity. 

This view was not shared by everyone. Even though ‘everyone’ included the head of her security detail. Why was Blake entrusting Yang with her life again?

It’s just illogical to put your protection in the hands of someone who collapses onto the sofa of your jet and orders a strawberry sunrise. Blake raised an eyebrow down at the slouched girl who had had her back for the past few years.

“What? We got a few hours on this flight, any tipsiness gained from one drink will have passed by the time we have landed. And you say it yourself, I hardly ever get time off. This is my downtime.” Yang grinned up at Blake with her ‘flawless’ logic. Blake just sighed and prepared herself for takeoff.

Once they were in the air, Yang bounced down next to her, a happy glint in her eye.

“This is such a ‘plane’ journey.” Really? Was this really the time for a pun?

“What do you expect? There’s not much to do in a metal cylinder suspended in the air.”

“It’s true.” Yang leaned her head on Blake’s shoulder. “I’m gonna take a nap, wake me up when we land.”

“Aren’t you meant to be the one protecting me?”

“Are you dead?” There was a pause. “Yeah, go me.”

This was probably not the best relationship for a person and their bodyguard to have, but as Blake settled down and prepared herself for the rest of the flight to Atlas, she realised that she wouldn’t have it any other way.


	11. Office AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about work in an office, you might be able to tell

Bored. So bored. This is the most bored that she had ever been, she was sure. Her mind had gone numb. From boredom. So much boredom. How many more minutes could Yang spend in work without going on a killing spree? Not many that was for sure.

At that moment, a little email alert appeared. Yang rolled her eyes, this was going to be another medial task added to the list of medial tasks that she already had to do. This was going to be a long day.

Ever since Yang had started working in an office, every single day she had questioned just why she had taken this job. Of course, the answer was the reason why everyone everywhere was working: money. She had been running low on lien and going on adventures didn’t really generate income. And now she had to go to a miserable office to do some miserable work that she really didn’t want to do.

At least she was good at it. Despite the hatred Yang felt for this job, she hadn’t yet been fired.

Dreading the work that was about to be dumped on her, Yang begrudgingly opened the email. Well, here goes.

(B.Belladonna) (10:23) You seem bored. I am too. Meet me in the storeroom.

Yang looked up to the girl working on the other side of the room. The two had been flirting back and forth for the past couple weeks, and Yang couldn’t help but admit that she was gorgeous. It was a wonder she got any of the dull work done when a girl like Blake was working in the same room. She didn’t give any sign that she had set up any kind of rebellious office activity, it was impressive on such a dull day.

(Y.XiaoLong) (10:29) What’s in it for me ;)

Switching out of the email tab, Yang tried to continue doing work. The key word here being ‘tried’ because she was so distracted by the beautiful shoulders of the beautiful girl shaking with laughter.

(B. Belladonna) (10: 34) Why don’t you follow me and find out?

And then she stood up casually and walked out of the room. Yang checked that no one was watching her, and followed discreetly.

Well, today was not as boring as it first seemed.


	12. Met at Comic Con AU

This was amazing. This was brilliant. This was a dream come true. Blake explored all of the different booths and stalls in the hall, finding some beautiful jewellery based off Third Crusade, or signed Spruce Willis merchandise. There were tshirts and plushies and people in cosplay and Blake felt like she could truly be herself here. She hadn’t felt like that in a long time.

After a few hours of mindless exploration and wonder, Blake decided to go and actually spend some of the lien that she had saved up. She just had to be careful, it’d be far too easy to bankrupt herself here.

Passing the comic stall for the fifth time, Blake let the temptation draw her to it. No one knew her here. No one would judge her. And the newest volume of ‘Ninjas of Love’ was right there, calling to her, urging her to browse through the pages. Before she could stop herself, Blake had the volume in hand and she was skimming over the first few panels.

“Hey there.” Crap. Crap. Crap. Blake’s head popped up quickly, ready to defend herself; an action which she was sure hid nothing that was going through her mind. Begging silently for the new arrival not to judge her, Blake turned to meet her eye.

And she hadn’t said that to Blake, thank God. The new customer was calling over one of the owners of the stall. Taking advantage of the lack of attention on her, Blake hurriedly tried to return ‘Ninjas of Love’ to where she had found it.

“Oh you’re in for a treat with that one, it’s fantastic.” The lady leading the stall had been watching Blake after all. Damn, Blake had been too focused on the blonde customer, she hadn’t noticed the redhead. At least the lady’s smile was understanding.

“Um, I…”

“We have opaque bags.” She was good at picking up social cues, Blake couldn’t fault her for that.

“Sure. Okay.”

“Oh that’s wonderful.” The lady beamed and then she packed up the volume and exchanged it for Blake’s money.

“Uh, Pyrrha?” It was the other owner, who was dealing with the other customer. “Where did we put the latest Xray and Vav?”

The lady, Pyrrha, laughed.

“You decided not to unpack them, remember?”

“Oh. Oh yeah.” He still looked rather lost, Blake couldn’t imagine what it must be like to run a stall with him. “Uh, which box?”

“Oh Jaune.” She looked rather affectionately upon the guy, probably found his ineptitude endearing. Before going to help him, she turned back to Blake. “Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your day.”

It was a quick decision, she’d probably regret it later, but hell, Blake had enjoyed what she’d read of the series so far.

“Actually, I’d like a copy of Xray and Vav as well.” Pyrrha smiled back at her.

“Of course, wonderful!”

Then Blake went and stood next to the blonde who’d arrived earlier. It was vaguely awkward as the two owners of the stall tried to navigate their own boxes. At least Pyrrha seemed to have herself together.

“So,” Blake was on the receiving end of a wink. “Ninjas of Love, huh?”

“Oh no.”

“Hey don’t be ashamed, we’ve all read something like it.” The girl wiggled her eyebrows.

“Uh…sure.” Could this get any more awkward?

“So, Xray and Vav?”

“Yeah?”

“What do think of Mogar?”

Blake shrugged. “Bit aggressive, but I like him.”

“Yeah, he has a heart of gold.”

“He’s going to attack Vav at some point though, I bet.”

“It’s just like Xray and Hilda.”

“It’s exactly like Xray and Hilda.”

“Well, a broken back from Mogar and reduced to ashes by a taser are basically the same thing.”

“Sure.”

“What about…” The girl was interrupted by Jaune returning with the comics, grinning apologetically. They exchanged their money for them and with a smile were about to be on their way.

“Uh, actually? Ladies?” Blake and the girl turned to look at him. “If you’re looking for some food or anything, our friends are running a pretty sweet stall just over there. It’d mean a lot if you’d pay a visit.”

“What are they selling?” Blake asked, hyperaware of her purse and how much was in it.

“Cakes.” Jaune grinned sheepishly. “You don’t have to buy anything, they just haven’t had much business and I’m a little worried that they…”

“I could go for a cake.” The blonde interrupted. “Could you?”

“Definitely.” Jaune and Pyrrha both smiled widely, it must be nice, to have friends that supportive.

“Well if we’re going to grab a cake together, might as well know each other’s names. I’m Yang!”

“Blake.”

And then the two made their way over to the stall that was filled with delicious baked goods. Each cupcake had a little icing insignia on top; there was the symbol from ‘The Thief and the Butcher.’ They were all beautiful. Blake ended up picking out an Xray and Vav cupcake topped with a tiny O.R.F. There was a comment from Yang along the lines of ‘good choice’ as she tried to make her decision. It took a couple minutes before Blake pointed out that they sold pancakes.

“Pan?” Yang’s attention was immediately seized. “That has me written all over it.” Which she followed with a wink in Blake’s direction. Again.

The two spent the rest of their day like that. They didn’t mean to spend it together, but they both wanted to go to the same events, seemed to like the same things and there was even a promise of a Spruce Willis movie marathon at some point in the future. If Blake had thought this place was perfect before, it was indescribable when she was exploring the hall with Yang.

At the end of the day, the two exchanged details and promised to meet up again soon. Besides they had the new volume of Xray and Vav to discuss.


	13. Lifeguard AU

Lying by a pool, letting her skin soak in the sunlight and just relaxing sounded exactly like what Yang wanted to be doing. Unfortunately, Yang actually had a job on the poolside and so was forced to not lie down, not let her skin soak in the sun and not relax. Typical.

Yang was aware that she had actually signed up for this and so it was entirely her fault that she was so miserable, but come on she hadn’t even been able to give any hot people mouth to mouth. Why the hell had she even signed up for this in the first place? Aside from money. It was really all about the money.

Yang saw the exact same thing, day in, day out. Kids were playing loudly in the pool and their parents weren’t doing anything to stop them because they were here ‘on holiday’ and so left the whole looking-after-the-children thing to the staff. Which was not in their job description, Yang had checked. She had to say the words ‘no running’ so many times that she was pretty sure they had lost their meaning.

Then there were the teenage idiots that were spending their first week away from their parents ever and so decided to go absolutely wild. This didn’t usually cause a problem for Yang since she didn’t have to deal with them whilst they were blind drunk, although she felt sorry for the people who did, but when they left and she had to clean out their rooms? Holy hell it was the most disgusting job Yang had ever had to do, and she had toilet trained a puppy.

Oh look, and there’s another one, a teenager grinning like he was some sort of mastermind about to push one of his friends into the pool. He had that ‘better than you’ demeanour that Yang had grown to despise and gave the girl he was standing behind a little nudge. Since she was at the edge of the pool, that was all it took for her to tumble in.

What Yang wasn’t expecting was her reaction.

The girl’s eyes widened in fear and her arms were flailing wildly. She screamed, properly screamed, and all the boys who were responsible were doing were laughing. Assholes. She seemed to fall in slow motion, almost in a cartoon kind of way, into the water and the panic she so obviously was experiencing resonated across the whole poolside.

Yang jumped into the water immediately, her splash simultaneous with the girl’s, trying desperately to get to her as soon as possible. It wasn’t her fault her friends were dicks, and oh god they’d pushed her into the deepest part of the pool. When she reached her, Yang wrapped her arm around the girl’s waist and kept them both afloat. 

“Hey, hey, shhh.” Yang tried to calm her down as she slowly guided her to the edge of the pool. “Everything’s okay. I’ve got you, you’re not going anywhere. You’re going to be fine, you’re safe.” And they were there, ready to pull themselves out. Yang lifted the girl until she was out of the water, and then heaved herself up to follow. The girl never once let go Yang, whether that was clinging to her arm or her wrist or anything. She kept constant contact.

She looked majorly spooked. Even Yang could see that she obviously had a fear of water, why had her friends pushed her in? Oh right, cause they were probably assholes who were going to leave their room a mess when they left. At this point Yang was very familiar with the type.

“Hey, I’m here. You okay?” Yang wrapped an arm around the girl’s shoulders, and gestured to the staff to find her a towel.

“Y-Yeah I’m fine.” The girl took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. “Thanks.”

“Hey just doing my job.”

“Yeah.” The two shared a look. “Uh, I’m Blake.”

“Yang.” She smiled at Blake as she was handed a towel, and wrapped it around her. “You need to lie down or anything.”

“That’d be great, thanks.” As Yang was guiding her away to somewhere cooler and quieter, Blake nuzzled into Yang’s side. Must have been a subconscious act of relief or something. Either way, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Neither was this job, now that Yang had had time to contemplate it.


End file.
